Rent or buy on a three-year NAS JRB Fort Worth tour
Near the Main Gate, buying and renting land closer together each month than most people expect. The towns with the lowest appraisal medians around the base produce owner estimates within about $100 to $200 of HUD's three-bedroom rent benchmark for the same ZIP. So the monthly bill rarely settles the question on a 36-month assignment. What settles it is how little of those 36 payments turns into equity, and what it costs to leave.
General information, not advice on a specific purchase and not a loan quote. Every figure below is sourced and dated; the list is at the bottom.
Check whether this is your question
This page is written for someone on a set assignment who draws full Basic Allowance for Housing: active-duty members, and full-time reservists (AGR/TAR). Many people assigned to NAS JRB Fort Worth are drilling reservists instead. A drilling reservist on orders of fewer than 30 days generally receives the lower BAH-RC/T rate, not the full rates below, and usually is not choosing housing for a three-year tour at all. For that household the rent-or-buy choice is a civilian decision, and the allowance rows in this guide do not describe its income.
What the allowance rents near the base
BAH is set by the duty ZIP, 76127, which falls in housing area TX356. The table sets three with-dependents rates beside HUD's fiscal 2026 Small Area Fair Market Rent for a three-bedroom unit in the ZIP each neighborhood page on this site uses.
| ZIP (place on this site) | HUD 3-bedroom | E-5 ($2,118) | E-6 ($2,424) | O-3 ($2,460) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76114 (River Oaks, Westworth Village) | $1,910 | $208 left | $514 left | $550 left |
| 76135 (Lake Worth) | $1,970 | $148 left | $454 left | $490 left |
| 76116 (Ridgmar, Western Hills) | $2,010 | $108 left | $414 left | $450 left |
| 76108 (White Settlement) | $2,270 | $152 short | $154 left | $190 left |
| 76126 (Benbrook) | $2,590 | $472 short | $166 short | $130 short |
HUD sets these figures by ZIP for the Fort Worth-Arlington HUD Metro FMR Area so the housing voucher program can pay different amounts in different parts of the metro. HUD builds them from gross rents. They are a dated public benchmark, not an average of today's listings, and not a quote for any home. The base's own ZIP, 76127, carries a three-bedroom figure of $3,190; it is the allowance ZIP, not a place this site covers.
BAH: DoD BAH 2026, TX356 rates checked 2026-10-03. Rents: HUD FY 2026 Small Area FMRs, Fort Worth-Arlington, TX HUD Metro FMR Area, checked 2026-10-05.
Lake Worth, held for 36 payments
The Lake Worth page prices a purchase at the town's Tarrant Appraisal District 2026 median single-family market value, $203,000, with no money down. The stated monthly estimate there is $2,079: principal and interest $1,419, tax $370, insurance $291, HOA $0. Here is what three years of that loan does.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Price (TAD 2026 median, not a sale price) | $203,000 |
| Loan with the 2.15% first-use funding fee financed | $207,365 |
| Amount the loan starts above the price | $4,365 |
| Interest paid over 36 months at 7.28% | $44,629 |
| Principal paid over 36 months | $6,448 |
| Balance at month 36 | $200,917 |
| Equity if the value is still $203,000 | $2,083 |
The financed fee eats most of the principal. Of $6,448 paid down, $4,365 only climbs back to the purchase price. With a flat value, the owner leaves with about $2,083 before paying anything to sell, and one percent of the price is $2,030.
Price, tax rate, and the stated estimate: Lake Worth page (TAD 2026 roll, checked 2026-10-03; TAD 2025 rates, opened 2026-10-03). Fee: VA funding fee and closing costs, updated 2026-09-22, checked 2026-10-05. Rate: Freddie Mac PMMS, 30-year fixed 7.28% for the week of 2026-10-01, checked 2026-10-05. Amortization is standard monthly arithmetic on those inputs.
The same three years as a renter in 76135
Thirty-six months at the $1,970 HUD benchmark for 76135 comes to $70,920. Thirty-six months of the $2,079 owner estimate comes to $74,844. Take away the $2,083 of equity and the owner is out about $72,761, or roughly $1,840 more than the renter, before closing costs, repairs, any price change, or the cost of selling. A price change moves the owner's result by $2,030 for every 1%. A flat market plus normal selling costs makes the purchase the more expensive choice; a rise of a few percent over the tour can reverse it.
Two things the comparison leaves out cut in opposite directions. The owner's tax line on this site has no homestead exemption in it, so an owner-occupant who files for one would pay less tax than shown. And HUD's benchmark is a gross-rent figure, while the owner estimate leaves out utilities entirely.
Leaving: a lease versus a house
A renter in uniform has a federal exit. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a lease can be ended after permanent change of station orders or deployment orders of at least 90 days, and also on retirement or separation orders. The servicemember gives written notice with a copy of the orders; with monthly rent, the lease ends 30 days after the next payment is due. The Justice Department treats a demand to repay rent concessions as an early termination fee that violates the Act.
An owner's exits are slower: sell, rent the house out, or sell to a buyer who takes over the VA loan. Each has its own page: selling or renting out when orders come and assuming a VA loan. On taxes, a seller who owned the house and lived in it for at least 24 months of the 5 years before the sale can generally exclude up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly. A full three-year tour in the house clears the 24 months. A VA purchase loan also requires that the buyer plans to live in the home.
Lease rights: U.S. Department of Justice, Financial and Housing Rights, updated 2025-05-12, checked 2026-10-05. Exclusion: IRS Publication 523 (2025), checked 2026-10-05. Occupancy: VA purchase loan, updated 2026-01-07, checked 2026-10-05.
What moves the answer near JRB
- Which ZIP. In 76114, 76135, and 76116 the three-bedroom benchmark leaves room under E-5 full BAH with dependents. In 76126 it sits above E-6 and O-3. Benbrook's owner estimate ($2,647) and its benchmark ($2,590) are only $57 apart, so there the decision turns almost entirely on equity and exit costs.
- A fee exemption. VA waives the funding fee for people receiving compensation for a service-connected disability, among others it lists. In the Lake Worth example that keeps the loan at $203,000 instead of $207,365, and the month-36 equity at a flat value rises to about $6,312 (calculated).
- Money down. At 5% down the first-use fee drops to 1.5% of the loan, and at 10% down to 1.25%.
- The rate. The PMMS average was 7.03% the week before 7.28% was posted. At 7.03% the Lake Worth principal and interest would be about $1,384 instead of $1,419.
- A longer stay. Follow-on orders in the Fort Worth area, or a plan to keep the house after leaving, changes the math more than any line above.
Exemptions and down-payment tiers: VA funding fee page, updated 2026-09-22, checked 2026-10-05. Prior-week rate: Freddie Mac PMMS, checked 2026-10-05.
Related pages
- 2026 BAH for TX356, all seven verified grades.
- Making a VA offer in the Main Gate price band.
- Compare the neighborhoods.
Sources and dates
- 2026 BAH, TX356, ZIP 76127: DoD BAH 2026, checked 2026-10-03.
- Three-bedroom benchmarks by ZIP: HUD FY 2026 Small Area FMRs, checked 2026-10-05.
- Lake Worth median and tax rate: Tarrant Appraisal District 2026 roll, checked 2026-10-03, and TAD 2025 tax rates, opened 2026-10-03. Insurance: TDI statewide average, opened 2026-10-03.
- Funding fee, tiers, exemptions: VA.gov, updated 2026-09-22, checked 2026-10-05.
- 30-year average 7.28% and 7.03%: Freddie Mac PMMS, week of 2026-10-01, checked 2026-10-05. A national conventional average, not a VA quote.
- Lease termination: DOJ, updated 2025-05-12, checked 2026-10-05.
- Home-sale exclusion: IRS Publication 523 (2025), checked 2026-10-05.
- Occupancy: VA.gov, updated 2026-01-07, checked 2026-10-05.